• Discuss and defend the ethics and principles surrounding action-oriented community-based research, and articulate how both factor into the practice of service delivery with sustainable, measurable, effective outcomes;
• Demonstrate substantive expertise in at least one major public health topic in their selected track, as well as knowledge of current directions in programmatic and policy responses;
• Design and conduct methodologically sound, evidence-based research that informs programs and policies in the primary substantive areas;
• Design and implement viable and culturally appropriate programs using logic models in at least one of the primary substantive areas; and
• Demonstrate competence in the professional skills necessary to move quickly into leadership positions within the types of organizations that deliver public health services.

In addition, all MPH graduates of the Mailman School of Public Health are able to: 

• Apply epidemiologic methods to the measurement of disease rates, prevention of infectious diseases, and the development and evaluation of health programs and policies;
• Apply statistical methods of estimation and hypothesis testing and explain the basics of correlation and regression for the purpose of analyzing the health of populations;
• Analyze how environmental contaminants (chemical, physical and other exposures) interact with biological systems and their effect on human populations for the purpose of evaluating risk reduction strategies
• Assess the impact on health policy options of social, political, technological, economic and cultural forces, and apply basic management techniques to address organizational challenges to providing health care;
• Examine public health issues and responses from a social and behavioral sciences perspective and explain social, cultural, political, economic, and behavioral determinants of disparities in health status among population sub-groups; and
• Demonstrate knowledge and skills for effective practice in their selected field of study.